Kings reprise role in The Walking Undead

LOS ANGELES – They play in the shadow of Hollywood, and would make stellar slasher-film villains.

The Kings just won’t go away. Drop them to the bottom of the pond, and they come back seeking vengeance. With their season on the line again, the Kings came through with their best effort of this second-round series and beat the Ducks 2-1 in Game 6 on Wednesday night at Staples Center.

Five times in the last 21 days, the Kings have played a game that could end their season. They went 4-0 against San Jose in the first round, and Wednesday’s victory forced a Game 7 on Friday in Anaheim.

The Game 7 winner plays Chicago in the Western Conference Final, which starts Sunday afternoon.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” Kings captain Dustin Brown said. “It’s great that we have that ability to dig our own grave and climb out of it, but we have one (more) game to take care of here. From then on, we have to try and not put ourselves behind the 8-ball.”

Goals from Jake Muzzin and Trevor Lewis gave the Kings a 2-0 lead, and their rejuvenated defense held on for the final 24 minutes after Kyle Palmieri scored in the second period to pull the Ducks within one.

The Kings, who had chafed a bit about the attention given to Ducks goaltender John Gibson, won the battle in goal. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves and Gibson, who won Games 4 and 5, allowed a soft goal when Lewis’ stoppable shot trickled past him for the eventual winner with 5:56 left in the second period.

“It’s hard to play from behind against (the Kings),” Ducks winger Corey Perry said. “It’s why it’s important to come out and get that first goal and get the lead and play with the lead. They’re a different team when they’re behind. We got to come out in Game 7 and really start with that push that we need.”

Given the way the Kings started Game 6, perhaps Coach Darryl Sutter threatened to put them to work on his Alberta ranch if they lost. They certainly found the inspiring start for which they’d be searching.

Sloppy in the neutral zone in recent games, and too often porous in front of their own net, the Kings rediscovered their gritty, hard-to-play-against roots and controlled the majority of the game.

The Ducks’ top line was neutralized, and captain Ryan Getzlaf was particularly ineffective. He did not record a shot on goal, lost 14 of 20 faceoffs and took a momentum-killing third-period slashing penalty.

“Me and (Perry) didn’t create enough, that’s for sure,” Getzlaf said. “I don’t know if it was something they did or what we didn’t do.”

From the start, the Kings forechecked with authority and deflected and intercepted pucks in the neutral zone, and their defensemen worked hard to prevent Quick from facing excessive traffic. Even the penalty kill, which had allowed four goals in the previous three games, was perfect in five opportunities.

“Our team is built to play in these kind of games,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. “Our leaders step up to the plate and they show the way. We’re looking forward to this game. We’re not nervous. We’re not overly excited or over-anxious. We’re just ready to get going.”

Game 6 more closely resembled the first two. The Kings won those, then struggled defensively as they dropped Games 3-5.

Now, it’s a coin-flip game at Honda Center on Friday. In last year’s first round, the Ducks led 3-2, then lost Game 6 on the road and Game 7 at home. They’ll try to avoid the same fate.